CHOCOWINITY MIDDLE SCHOOL
HUMAN BODY: Fifth-grade students at Chocowinity Middle School studied the human body and its systems in science classes. Shane Grier, a paramedic and the captain of Chocowinity EMS, came out to demonstrate the heart monitor and let the students hear their heart beats with a stethoscope. He talked about how the heart works and how electricity affects the heart and its electrical conduction system. Grier also talked about the heart’s main function: to pump oxygen-rich blood to the body and send oxygen-poor blood to the lungs. During their study of the circulatory system, the students learned about the main components of blood: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Students then simulated making blood with everyday food items. Their blood had plasma (yellow water), red blood cells (sticky red Cheerios, sticky just like real blood cells), white blood cells (marshmallows) and platelets (lentils). Kyla McCall and Aaliyah Hollis learn what blood is made of by mixing food items that represented the parts. Chocowinity EMS Capt. Shane Grier hooks Alexandra Clark to the monitor as Megan Jensen watches.